A motorist was allegedly pushed off the Odo Iya Alaro Link Bridge in the Maryland area of Lagos by police officers following a dispute over an alleged Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane violation.
The incident, which reportedly occurred on Friday, was captured in a video shared by Objectv Media on Facebook and has sparked public outrage.
According to eyewitness accounts in the video, the officers stopped the driver for allegedly driving on the BRT lane. The encounter reportedly escalated into a heated argument over the penalty before the motorist was allegedly pushed from the bridge.
The footage showed several police officers engaged in a confrontation with more than 10 young men on the bridge, while the alleged victim was seen lying on the ground below, surrounded by sympathisers.
A narrator in the video, speaking in Pidgin English, accused the officers of routinely harassing motorists and extorting money from them.
He alleged that officers stationed at the Maryland BRT corridor regularly stop motorists and demand fines ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦100,000 for alleged BRT lane violations.
According to him, the victim was pushed off the bridge after refusing to withdraw money for the officers.
“This is how they operate. They stop vehicles on the BRT lane, impose fines and harass motorists. While arguing with the man, they pushed him down from the top of the bridge,” the narrator alleged.
As of the time the report was filed, the identity and condition of the alleged victim had not been confirmed, and it was unclear whether he survived the fall.
BRT lane enforcement in Lagos is managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) under the Ministry of Transportation.
The Lagos State Government had suspended enforcement of the BRT lane along the Eko Bridge and Odo Iya Alaro corridor in July last year to ease traffic congestion before restoring enforcement in October.
When contacted, LAMATA’s Head of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Kolawole Ojelabi, referred enquiries to the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation.
However, efforts to obtain comments from the ministry were unsuccessful, as calls to the Director of Public Affairs, Mrs. Bolanle Ogunlola, did not connect and a text message sent to her had not been answered.
Similarly, the Lagos State Police Command had yet to respond to the allegations. Calls and text messages sent to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, were not answered as of the time of filing the report.